The Time of Discord
by Megamafan16
Summary: To hide from Discord's attack, the Doctor takes the Cutie Mark Crusaders into his TARDIS...but their fighting causes them to be sent back in time, to when Discord ruled Equestria! Can the Doctor fight off Discord, and help these children get home safely?
1. Chapter 1

_I own nothing._

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><p><span>My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic;<span>

_Doctor __Whooves __in_..

THE TIME OF DISCORD

Chapter 1

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><p><span>2 days after Discord:<span>

'WELCOME EVERYPONY!' the banner read...and everypony came. In fact, even pets came down to Sugarcube Corner that afternoon, expecting a truly grand party. After all, Pinkie Pie was throwing it, and she always provided. Carrot Top even brought her best hat; the carrot-shaped decorations that matched her cutie mark provided the perfect look for the occasion! Of course, she never wore it while tending her gardens, but a frilly party like this? There never would be a better time! Feeling so very confident, she strode inside the door...

...and was immediately knocked off her feet by Pinkie Pie exclaiming: "Hi, Carrot Top! Welcome to Pinkie's _'The__Elements__of__Harmony__Just__Saved__the__Day'_ Extravaganza! We're so glad you could come!" And just before Carrot Stem could pull herself back up, the pink pony blew a noisemaker right in front of her nose! The tickling sensation went to work immediately...

"ah...aaahh...aaaAAH-CHOOOOOOO!"

The sneeze propelled Carrot Top straight into a small gathering, resulting in a small pile-up of dizzy-eyed ponies, and Berry Punch being thrown straight into the punch bowl (not that she would complain of course-punch was her favorite drink).

Always a helpful pony, Applejack walked up to Carrot Top, and offered the carrot-grower a hoof, which was graciously accepted. "Y' OK there, Carrot Top?"

"Yeah, thanks Applejack. I think I've been tossed around a lot worse than that by my carrots!"

Confused by this remark, Applejack asked: "That ever really happened?"

"Earlier this week, actually-my entire garden suddenly came to life, and tossed me around like I was a beachball! You should've been there!"

"Actually," interjected Twilight Sparkle, who had just entered Carrot Top's field of vision; "I think we all were! Well, maybe not for the 'living carrots' part, but still."

"Whoa there, Twi- yer sayin' that was what Discord did t' Carrot Top here?"

"I'm not ruling it out, Applejack." the unicorn stated, her mind flashing back to the events of the preceding days; "When Discord escaped his prison, he pretty much overpowered everypony, including Princess Celestia! And he broke apart our friendship, so we couldn't use the Elements of Harmony against him! He then went and turned Ponyville into his personal playground of chaos, so there's no telling exactly _what_ he did to the other ponies! Or, for that matter, what he _would_ have done had we not found the elements, fixed our friendship, and stopped him!"

"Yeah," said Rainbow Dash, "but the thing is, we did beat him, and we reversed all of his spells! And that's why Pinkie threw this massive party and invited the entire town: to celebrate! So what're you waiting for, Berry Punch to drink the entire punch bowl? Hit the dance floor!"

Carrot Top happily obliged Rainbow Dash, and within the minute both ponies were grooving to Vinyl Scratch's (a.k.a. DJ PON3) mixing of Sapphire Shores'music.

Twilight thought to herself: "You know, that's not such a bad idea," and trotted off in the direction of the dancing...when suddenly, Rarity galloped up to Twilight, a distraught look in her wide eyes.

"Twilight, I cannot find Sweetie Belle anywhere! Have you seen her?"

"I'm afraid not, Rarity. Applejack's had zero luck with Apple Bloom too."

Applejack nodded. "And ah would venture a guess that Scootaloo's missin' too, since those three stick together like thorns on a bramble bush."

"You know, Pinkie threw this party the instant we got back from Canterlot!" Twilight noted. "Figures we never would have had the time to search for them."

"What_ever_ shall we _do_?" exclaimed Rarity, concern for her little sister causing her to become light-headed (and a few of Pinkie Pie's drinks only making it worse).

"Calm down, girls. Let's just keep our eyes open, and wait for them to come. If not, we can organize a search party after-"

(BASH) "Did somepony say '_PARTY'?__" _Pinkie Pie enthusiastically shouted as she knocked Twilight aside.

As soon as the room stopped spinning, Twilight replied: "Yes, Pinkie; a _search_ party. We can't find any of the Cutie Mark Crusaders anywhere!"

Pinkie put a hoof to her mouth in thought...and then said, with a twinkle in her eye: "I'll go check the guest list!"

"Oh, thank you Pinkie Pie! Thank you oh so much!" exclaimed a relieved Rarity.

…...

Her relief quickly gave way to annoyance as, outside Sugarcube Corner and away from the noise, she saw that Pinkie had combed the 10-page guest list at least 20 times. "Are you done yet, Pinkie?"

"How long's it going to take for you to find any information on the Cutie Mark Crusaders' whereabouts?" asked Twilight Sparkle.

"We were looking for that?" asked Pinkie, clearly surprised. As Twilight slapped herself in the face, Pinkie said: "They never checked in apparently. I found that on the first run-through of the list!"

"Then what in the hay _are_ you searchin' for?" asked an exasperated Applejack.

"I can't shake the feeling that somepony's not on this list. I'm sure I know him, but I'm not...I know the girls' not being here is a bad thing, but that's because _nopony_ should ever miss this party! But somepony is! And who...is...it? And who's making that weird sound?"

"What sound, Pinkie?" Twilight asked...and as the question was asked, it was already answered:

_Vrrrrrooosh...Vrrrrrooosh...Vrrrrrooosh...Vrrrrrooosh..._

The four ponies turned around towards the sound's source...and saw a familiar-looking door-sized blue box appear in the middle of the road!

"Ummmm...what's going on? I...thought I heard this noise, and-(GASP!)" Fluttershy gasped as she and Rainbow Dash walked outside, and observed this same phenomenon.

"It can't be-"

"It's-"

"Is it really-"

"THE DOCTOR!" Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly.

**(Insert Theme song (MLP or DW) here)**

"THE DOCTOR!" Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly. "The crazy pony from another universe with a time machine that's bigger on the inside!"

"Um, Pinkie? We already know that. We've traveled with the Doctor before." Twilight stated.

Rather than respond to Twilight, Pinkie ran up to the doors of the TARDIS, knocked, and called out to the time pony inside: "Where were you, Doctor? Without you, the party was-"

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER TIME TRAVELERS YAY!" shouted the hyper-fast blur that suddenly shot out of the TARDIS, sending Pinkie Pie spinning.

The onlookers rubbed their eyes in shock...and when they opened them again, three small ponies stood before them, walking in circles-one yellow, one white, and one orange! They suddenly stopped, their faces sullen, and the white one said: "Aw, come on! Why isn't there an hourglass on my flank?"

Instead of an answer, the little pony got a tackle from a teary-eyed Rarity. "SWEETIE BELLE!" she shouted, "I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!"

Applejack ran up to Apple Bloom, hugged her, and said: "Where were you, Apple Bloom? Y'all had us worried sick!"

Scootaloo, after seeing what happened to her fellow crusaders, braced for the incoming hug...and opened her eyes after a second, to see Rainbow Dash standing over her. Rainbow just ruffled Scootaloo's hair, saying: "Good to see you made it back, Scoots."

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie watched the fillies reunite with their big sisters and idol. The purple unicorn sighed in relief, and said: "Glad that little crisis is averted."

"Tell me about it."

Everypony turned to see the Doctor finally step out of the TARDIS doors, his spiky mane looking even more messy than usual.

Just then, Applejack trotted up to the Doctor, and shouted in his face: "What's the big idea of carryin' off Apple Bloom like that? Yer kind a' adventures coulda gotten her hurt!" And with that, she slapped the brown pony straight in the face.

The Doctor rubbed the horseshoe mark on his cheek, and said to himself: "First the mothers, now the big sisters! I can never catch a breather, can I?"

"Focus, Doctor." stated Twilight Sparkle. "Why are the Cutie Mark Crusaders your companions?"

"It's a long story. But don't worry. I'm not taking them on any more trips until they're older." the Doctor stated, earning a collective "Awwwww..." from the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "And besides," he continued, "The situation's completely under control!"

"Are you sure, Doctor? Because I think I see a Cybermare in there."

Upon hearing Twilight's observation, the Doctor turned around, pointed his sonic screwdriver at the supposed pony version of his old 'Cyberman' enemies... and just before the screwdriver could be triggered, the robotic pony popped in a burst of rainbow energy.

"Huh. You know, I thought they all vanished when the Elements of Harmony were triggered...maybe this one was a delayed reaction." the Doctor said quietly to himself...before turning to Twilight, blushing in embarrassment, and saying "See? Everything's under control!"

Everypony stared at him, waiting for him to admit it's a lie.

Eventually, he sighed, and said: "Alright, it wasn't _always_ under control. Like I said, it's a long story."

"We don't need to hear it," stated Sweetie Belle, "We were there when it happened!"

"Alright!" Pinkie Pie bounced up to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and continued: "You girls go inside and enjoy the party! The rest of us, it's StoryTime!"

The little fillies nodded their heads, and dashed off inside Sugarcube Corner faster than the eye could follow...while the rest sat down around the Doctor.

"Here's yer chance, mister." stated an angry Applejack: "Y' better give me a good reason to not plant another hoof in yer face."

"Right then." The Doctor rubbed his face again, and then started: "It started around the time those pink clouds appeared in the skies of Ponyville..."

(_**TWO **__**DAYS **__**EARLIER**_)

"Remain calm, everypony! I'm sure Twilight Sparkle and her friends will figure this out very soon!" the mayor shouted desperately, as the ponies of Ponyville rushed to and fro trying to avoid the incoming buffalo...in tutus...that were dancing ballet. A few of the buildings had lifted themselves up out of the ground, and some of the wells turned into geysers of salt water.

And in the middle of all the chocolate rain and popcorn grass, stood the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Confusion!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"Evil!" shouted Sweetie Belle.

"Chaos!" shouted Scootaloo.

"GIRLS!" shouted Cherilee, fed up with their constant arguing. "Now is not the time! You three need to get to safety right ..." she said as she suddenly fell through a deep hole in the ground that wasn't there three seconds ago.

Five seconds later, Cherilee fell from the sky and hit the ground right next to the hole. Dazed, but completely unharmed, she stumbled away from the scene.

As soon as she was gone, the Crusaders all screamed very loudly, and ran into an alleyway, trying to get off the streets...

...when suddenly, in their path, appeared a creature similar to that 'Draconequus' statue from the Canterlot Sculpture Gardens! And before any of the CMCs could react, it started speaking:

"Hello, girls! I just have to say, thank you _so__much_ for cutting me loose from that statue. As such, I'm prepared to give you this most generous reward..." And with that, the monster snapped it's eagle-fingers, and a gigantic wolf appeared in front of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!

"Enjoy your puppy, girls! Bwahahaha!" the monster laughed, and then it disappeared...leaving the wolf with nothing to chase but the three little ponies.

…...

Seconds later, in the town square, a bright flash of light gathered everypony's attention...and what they saw was what looked like a dragon, but hardly any of the recognizable features! The strange creature spread its 'arms' out, and shouted: "Attention, everypony! The Elements of Harmony are defeated! Equestria, and pretty much everything else for that matter, is now under the control of me, Discord! You don't really have any say in this matter so just sit back, relax, and enjoy the _chaos._"

As the creature that called itself 'Discord' finished, the skies turned purple, and what looked like blue rocks started falling from the sky, leaving trails of candy canes as they streaked towards the town. Ponies everywhere ran in fright, as the boulders crashed down to earth...causing hills to rise instead of craters. The rocks themselves shattered into drops of pink fluid, which splattered all over the place.

Thee mayor watched her beloved village turn into something reminding her of an insane painting... At least, she was, until Discord pointed a finger at her, and blasted her with a yellow bolt of energy that turned her into a toad.

Then, Discord blasted several more yellow beams around him, laughing uncontrollably as he did: "I'd almost forgotten how unbelievably amazing this feels! I mean, 1,500 years without chaos! How do you ponies ever live without it?"

…...

The Cutie Mark Crusaders ran as fast as they could, but they couldn't shake the snarling wolf. They even tried running into a building...but the door led right through the front door of a building just across the street! Luckily, that door was right behind the wolf, so they gained some distance from it in the time it took the beast to turn around.

Eventually, the three girls started to run out of breath, and the wolf gained some distance on them...and then, suddenly, Someone shouted: "OVER HERE, GIRLS!"

Following the voice, the girls found themselves heading for a blue shed with the words 'Police Public Call Box' written above the doors...which were open, and a brown stallion was standing in the doorway urging them inside. With adrenaline flowing through them, they didn't give it a second thought. They rushed inside, and the stallion closed the door. One small 'Whump' later told them all that the wolf had run into the doors, and bounced off them harmlessly.

(In fact, outside, the wolf had burst in a shower of candy.)

The three fillies panted, the sheer terror of the chase steadily leaving them. "Thanks a bunch," wheezed Apple Bloom, "We thought we were goners!"

"Don't thank me just yet," stated the stallion (with a now noticeable Trottingham accent), "There's still a whole lot of work to do. There's a whole lot of energy floating around, and it's wreaking havoc with the TARDIS' shields. I've got to keep it out of here, or else-" He was suddenly cut off by a loud buzzing sound from outside, not unlike a tongue-raspberry.

Just then, the three fillies heard the stallion's voice: "Now that _completely_ defies the laws of physics! I know this universe runs on magic, but a cloud? Sticking its tongue out? That is just impossible!"

At this point, the Cutie Mark Crusaders actually took a good look at their surroundings.

They were inside a large, circular room, with walls covered in circular glowing jewels. Large stone pillars surrounded the outside, holding up a large metallic balcony that seemed to serve no particular purpose. And in the center stood a column that went all the way up to the impossibly-high ceiling. At the bottom of the column was some kind of table, with a wide assortment of doohickeys (some of which Apple Bloom recognized) covering its surface. And looking at a flat panel on that surface (which was flashing images like a Crystal TV screen), was the stallion: a brown earth pony with an hourglass for a cutie mark.

"Wow..." all three of them stated breathily.

"Yes, yes, my name's the Doctor, and my TARDIS is bigger on the inside, now brace for impact! There's a tidal wave incoming!"

No sooner did the Doctor shout that command, than the room they were in shook violently, tossing its occupants all around.

In no time at all after the shaking stopped, the Doctor got up, walked back over to the central column, and said: "Whoever is doing this to the universe is going to be very, very sorry when this is over!"

Suddenly, Sweetie Belle was reminded of what happened earlier: she angrily turned to her fellow crusaders, and said: "This is all your fault!"

"What did we do?" both of them asked.

"If you hadn't started that argument, that weird statue might not've gotten loose!" she accused, pointing to Scootaloo.

"Um, I distinctly remember _you_ started the argument!" Scootaloo pointed at Apple Bloom.

"No I did not! It was Sweetie Dictionary over there!" Apple Bloom pointed at Sweetie Belle, who was quickly enraged by the comment.

"I...AM _NOT_...A _DICITONARY!__"_ Sweetie Belle shouted, leaping at the other two fillies.

The three of them started fighting, the dust from the unclean TARDIS floor obscuring them as they tossed and turned in a wrestling pile that rolled all over the room.

"Whatever's going on over there, I don't have time for it!" exclaimed the Doctor, still focused on the devices on the central controls of the TARDIS. Then, he noticed the three girls didn't respond.

"(Sigh) Everypony warned me about you three 'Cutie Mark Crusaders.'" the Doctor moaned, right before dashing over to where the girls were fighting.

"ALRIGHT THEN, BREAK IT UP EVERYPONY! THERE IS TO BE NO FIGHTING IN THIS TARDIS! BREAK! IT! UP!" he shouted, right before reaching into the twisting pile of violence...and then getting knocked away by their flailing hooves. He soared straight into the TARDIS console, colliding with an audible "OOF!"

This got the attention of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who immediately stopped fighting when they realized they had hurt the Doctor. They rushed over to his side, asking "Doc! Are you alright?"

The Doctor tried to answer...but then a small piece of metal landed on his head, and then bounced onto the floor right in front of the dazed pony. The Doctor got a good look at the small object...and gasped in total horror.

"What is it?" asked Scootaloo.

"...The steering wheel." the Doctor managed to say.

"That doesn't look like a wheel." noted Sweetie Belle.

Ignoring the little filly, the Doctor grabbed the object with his hoof, and said: "Don't worry, everypony; I can fix this as long as the TARDIS isn't-"

_CLUNK!_

"...moving."

_Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh..._

…...

The light flashed on the top of the blue police shed that composed the exterior of the TARDIS, as the whooshing sound rose in volume. The light eventually enveloped the entirety of the shed, which slowly faded out of sight. Soon, the whooshing sound faded...

...and was replaced by the distinctive laughter of Discord. "Enjoy the trip, Doctor!" he called out, "_I_ most certainly did. Gwahahahahahaha! Wahahahahahahaha!"

…

"Lookit what you did, Sweetie Belle!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"It was Scootaloo!" retorted Sweetie Belle.

"No, it was Apple Bloom's fault!" Scootaloo shouted back.

"GIRLS!" shouted the Doctor, "you all share the blame for this incident! Now shut up, so I can prevent this from getting out of hand!" The three fillies nodded, and then glared at each other…

…and then the room started spinning, literally! It felt like they were in a box being rolled down a very steep hill, as they desperately clung to whatever pieces of bolted-down scenery they could. The Doctor kept a firm hoof on the central console, as centrifugal force threatened to throw him against the wall.

"WHAT'S HAPPENIN', DOC?" Apple Bloom shouted desperately.

"THE PARKING BRAKE WAS RELEASED AS WELL! THE TARDIS IS TRAVELING THROUGH TIME, WITH NO WAY TO CONTROL THE DESTINATION!"

"WELL, CAN'T YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shouted at the same time.

"IF I CAN GET TO THE EMERGENCY STOP LEVER," he explained as he crawled across the edge of the console, "WE'LL TOUCH DOWN…HOPEFULLY _NOT_ INSIDE THE MOLTEN HEART OF A STAR!"

"WELL HURRY!" shouted all three Cutie Mark Crusaders at once. As they did, the Doctor let go of the console with one hoof, and with strain on every part of his body, slowly reached towards a red lever…and pulled it.

Instantly, the spinning stopped, and everypony dropped to the floor of the TARDIS with a distinctive 'WHAM.' They picked themselves up, and the three children turned to the Doctor, their faces asking: 'now what?'

"Now, we ensure that we landed somewhere safe-and hopefully," his face seemed to darken with anger as he continued, "somewhere I can leave you while I fix the TARDIS because I cannot trust you to keep your hooves to yourselves." The tone of his voice caused the three fillies to shrink back in fear…which instantly made the Doctor feel uncomfortable.

"Oh, don't give me that!" he exclaimed, putting his cheery tone back in his voice, "We might have landed on some sort of trampoline planet or something!" this brought some calm back to the CMCs, and made the Doctor feel better about himself.

"Right then! Let's see what we've got!" And with that, the Doctor opened the TARDIS…

…and stood there in the opening, dumbfounded at what he was seeing. The Cutie Mark Crusaders asked him what happened, and he breathlessly pointed outside. The three fillies walked up to the doorway, and followed his hoof…

"Oh, Celestia…"

The TARDIS was upside down in a room full of stairs that were mounted on the walls as well as the ceiling and floor, and angled and tilted every which way. The more they looked, the more confused they became as to which way was up, down, or sideways.

"This is bad," the Doctor stated. "This is _very_ bad."


	2. Chapter 2

_Still own nothing._

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><p>THE TIME OF DISCORD<p>

Chapter 2

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><p>"This is bad." The Doctor stated. "This is <em>very<em> bad."

All the Cutie Mark Crusaders nodded in agreement. This room completely defied everything they learned about gravity in school. It's impossible to be upside down without falling...and the same should hold true for all the ponies they saw walking on the walls! And what's more, these stairs shouldn't be able to support their own structures at these angles!

"What's going on, Doctor?" Sweetie Belle finally asked.

"Let's find out," responded the Doctor. Then, after pausing a little, he grabbed a small coat and jumped out of the TARDIS doors…and landed on the ceiling (which, from their perspective, was the floor).

"Huh. Our personal gravity appears to be defined by what surface we are closest to in this room. As long as we watch our step, we should be safe here. Now; come along then, children! Allons-y!" And with that, he started trotting off…and then turned back to see that the CMCs had yet to leave the TARDIS.

"I don't trust this place one bit, Doc!" retorted Scootaloo.

"Neither do I." the Doctor glared at the three girls, "But I'm curious, and you three need supervision. So, come _along,_ children."

Apple Bloom sighed. "C'mon, girls. Guess we gotta go." And with that, the three children stepped outside, and trotted up to the Doctor…before asking: "What're we gonna do here, anyway?"

"When the steering wheel broke, the TARDIS was flung somewhere into Ponyville's past, or its future. I pulled the emergency stop, which should've made us land in the safest possible spot relative to our position in the Time Vortex…but we don't know where that is. If I don't know where we're going, I could wind up sending us to…some place much less safe than the Ponyville you came from. We're out here to get our latitude and longitude before we fix the mast and set sail. Comprendre?"

….

Suddenly, the Doctor noticed that the three children weren't paying attention to him…but rather, something directly behind him. He turned around, prepared to see something frightening.

Sure enough, behind him was a massive creature with the general shape of a river dragon. Upon closer inspection, however, the Doctor noticed that this thing had the head of a goat, the neck of a pony, the horns of a deer and a goat, a tooth from a sabertooth tiger, the legs of a horse and a dragon, the hands of a lion and an eagle, and the tail of a tufted snake.

"You lost me at 'steering wheel.'" said a deep, male voice as the creature moved its mouth.

The Doctor jumped, placing himself directly between the creature and the children. "Who or what are you, and what do you want?"

"Who am I?" the creature asked, confused. "I've been ruling this place for longer than anypony can remember, and someone needs to ask my name? Where have you _been_ all your life?"

The Doctor made a move to answer, but then the creature moved in closer, and asked: "Come to think of it, who are you?"

"Oh!" exclaimed the Doctor, "I am…" he paused, and dug through his coat pockets for a few seconds (earning an eyebrow raise from the creature) before pulling out a scrap of paper. "Whatever it says here!"

The mismatched creature leaned in closer (reading glasses appearing on its face in a tiny flash of light), and read: "The Doctor. A Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, in the constellation Kasterborous, located in an alternate universe. 10th incarnation. Last survivor of the Last Great Time War between the Time Lords and the Daleks."

The Doctor gasped. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAY SOMETHING _OTHER_ THAN THAT!" he shouted at the little scrap of paper.

Suddenly, the creature lifted its head up in recognition, and gained a tremendous smile on its face. "You're the Doctor? The Doctor?" it asked, shocking the Doctor considerably.

Before anything else could be said, the creature circled the Doctor intently. "Well I must say it's such a pleasure to finally meet you face to face; I'm a huge fan of your work, even though you do work for…_order_…" it said, accenting the last word with a tone of disgust.

"Anyway," the creature continued, "that explains why you and your companions have never heard of me, so let's rectify that; I'm Discord the draconequus, spirit of disharmony, avatar of chaos, and this world's tyrannical overlord!" As he finished, fireworks burst off of the walls, exploding behind him in a shower of light (reminding all observers of that 'Trixie' girl from a while back).

"Now," continued Discord as the fireworks died down, "I'd love to get your autograph, but...from what I know of you, your personal morality states you have to thwart the forces of chaos wherever and whenever they appear... so, I guess I'm gonna have to fight you. Just want to make it clear, this isn't personal. Have fun!" and with that, Discord snapped his fingers, and disappeared in a flash.

"...What just happened, Doctor?" asked Sweetie Belle, still shocked from the encounter.

"Do you want the long version, or the short version?"

"Short works for me." Scootaloo stammered.

"Alright then..." the Doctor turned around sharply, and shouted: "RUN!"

Quickly, all of them turned around, and made a mad dash for the TARDIS...only to find Discord wrapped around the outer shell!

"Looking for this?" asked the spirit of disharmony as he tapped the roof of the TARDIS with his lion paw. Suddenly, the roof popped open, revealing a horrifyingly colorful clown-like figure on a spring! Almost instantly, the CMCs started screaming again, and running around in circles.

"...How did you turn the TARDIS into a Jack-in-the-Box?" asked the Doctor, now angry at the draconequus for messing with the TARDIS like that.

"Like I'd tell you that," said the Jack-in-the-Box head (which, upon closer inspection, bore an uncanny resemblance to Discord), "after all, why spoil the fun? There are still at least a few bottomless pits I have yet to throw you into-or is it out of? I can't remember everything I did to the laws of physics on this plane..."

As Discord's clowny duplicate trailed off in contemplation, the real Discord suddenly noticed something: "Hey, where'd your kids go off to?"

A quick glance revealed that, yes, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had indeed gone missing. The Doctor angrily turned back towards Discord, and stated: "If you have harmed one hair on their manes, then I _swear_ that I'll-"

"You'll do what? _Talk_ me down?" Discord laughed as he uncoiled himself from around the 'Jack-in-the-TARDIS,' and floated around the Doctor; "I control the entire fabric of reality here, Doctor! I took away all your ultra-advanced alien technology, and without them, you're just another smarter-than-average pony. Think about it; a little pony versus someone who literally knows _everything_?"

The Doctor thought about what Discord just said...and then narrowed his eyes and stated: "I've faced worse odds before."

Discord laughed. "Yeah right. You don't stand a chance against me, Time Lord! _En garde, Docteur!_" he exclaimed, as he pulled out a pink, frilly rapier.

Thinking quickly, the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and activated it…causing it to squirt him in the face, to the amusement of Discord.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Discord rolled around, laughing out loud…not noticing the twinkling lights that started swirling around the Doctor.

The Doctor did, however…and he didn't trust them one bit. He pointed his sonic device at the lights, and tried to activate it, but only wound up with more water in his face. Frantic, he tried to run, but they matched every hooffall he made.

"WHAT'S THIS TRICK SUPPOSED TO BE, DISCORD?" the Doctor shouted at the giggling draconequus…who quickly stopped laughing, and finally noticed the lights.

Instantly, Discord's face changed from happy to hateful: "Not this time, you won't!" he exclaimed, as he lunged for the Doctor….and missed by a distance of thirty feet. The draconequus realized his mistake too late, as the Doctor faded from sight along with the lights.

"CURSE YOU, YOU INFURIATING PONIES!"

….

The Doctor opened his eyes, and found himself in some kind of dark tunnel. As soon as he noticed this, he sat down and pressed his hooves to his temples, as the sudden teleportation left him remarkably dizzy.

Suddenly, he noticed a light behind him, prompting him to turn around: the tunnel opened up into a large cavern, where ponies of all shapes and sizes huddled together. Murmurs of hushed conversations echoed all around the smooth walls, and the ever-perceptive Time Lord detected tones of relief and fear interwoven with each other. Mothers clutched their foals tightly to their bodies, soothing the crying children with beautiful lullabies. At several points around the room, pairs of unicorns and earth ponies carried around bowls of stew to those who were hungry.

"Wow…" was all the Doctor could manage to say.

"I only wish there were more here than outside," whispered a familiar angelic voice. "We cannot help everypony, but we do what we can."

The Doctor turned around with a jerk, and found he was right next to a tall, white unicorn with a long pink mane. Quickly, he glanced at her sides…wings! She was an alicorn! And her flank had a picture of the sun on it! Thinking quickly, he bowed: "I'm so sorry, princess Celestia. So sorry it had to happen this way. I couldn't stop it back then."

…

"What are you talking about? I'm no princess! Just call me Celestia," she replied, surprising the Time Lord. "And over there," she continued, "is my sister, Luna."

With that, she pointed her hoof towards another alicorn off in the distance, who was gazing into a crystal ball. This one was a midnight blue, with a lighter blue color on her mane. Upon her flank was a picture of the crescent moon. Rather than turn and respond, she continued gazing.

"It's lucky we detected you when we did…Doctor, was it? Otherwise, there's no telling _what _Discord would have done to you."

"I thank you, princess…Wait…how did you guess my name? I haven't done much travelling through Equestria's history.

"You can thank Luna for that. She's always busy keeping track of Discord's activities through this chaotic realm."

The Doctor nodded for a second…and then remembered the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Wait…what about the three children? The ones that were with me?"

Celestia gestured over to one corner of the room…where the Doctor spied Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo wandering in confusion. "I hope you don't blame us for putting the children before you, Doctor." Celestia said….before noticing the Doctor had already galloped off to reunite with them.

The Doctor ran up to them, and happily exclaimed: "You're all Okay! This is amazing! I know it's only been a few minutes, but I missed you already!"

"Aw, it's OK, Doc." said Scootaloo.

"Yeah. No thanks to _her._" Sweetie Belle said, casting an accusing look at Scootaloo.

"Me? I thought we all agreed _you_ started the fight!" Scootaloo shouted back.

"Yeah, SB! You were the one who jump'd us for no reason!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"Says the girl who called me a Dictionary!" Sweetie Belle retorted.

"Ah said no such thing!" shouted Apple Bloom.

The shouting died down, and the three fillies glared at each other menacingly as the Doctor looked on, unsure of how to stop them…and then Celestia teleported right next to them in a bright flash of light!

"Stop it, children! Do you _want_ Discord to find us?" she exclaimed, her normally angelic voice now carrying the unmistakable air of authority. Immediately, the three fillies shyly backed away.

"Now _there's_ the Princess Celestia I remember." stated the Doctor.

"Why do you keep calling me princess, Doctor? As long as I can remember, the ruler of these lands has been Discord! My sister and I may have taken charge of protecting these ponies from Discord, but that doesn't make us their…ruler! A ruler's the _last _thing these ponies need; they need food, shelter, and a safe place to rear their foals! And they don't get that out there, not while Discord remains unchallenged!"

"And before you ask," said Luna, who had gotten up from her crystal ball, "yes we have tried to remove him from his throne by force. Our combined powers couldn't even make him flinch!"

"Wait…the Elements of Harmony didn't work?" asked Sweetie Belle.

…..

"The elements of what now?" asked both alicorns.

That sentence knocked the pieces into place for the Doctor; he started pacing around, as he exclaimed: "Of course! This isn't a disastrous future…this is the distant past! Discord must've ruled Equestria before Celestia and Luna took the throne! And apparently, before the Elements of Harmony were discovered, too!"

The Doctor continued pacing…and eventually stopped, licked his hoof, and lifted it up...and he smiled with an unrealistic amount of joy. "YES! Not a fixed point in time!"

"What's so good about that?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"It means, nothing we do here will affect our existence in the future. That's good because, since Discord has the TARDIS, we won't be going anywhere for a little while. Might as well make ourselves at home!"

Having said that, he trotted up to the white alicorn, and asked: "So, not-yet-princess Celestia, how long has this been going?"

"Like I said. As long as I can remember."

"And for just about all that time, you've been juggling...how many shelters now?"

"Just this one, I'm afraid. All the sanctuaries that we built for ponies before were discovered by him practically the next day! I still have no idea how we managed to get this one to last a month!" Celestia exclaimed. "Even still, I cannot ever shake the feeling that he's going to find us one day, and when he does, we won't-"

"Whoa, back up there, Celestia:" the Doctor interrupted: "How long has he taken to find your other sanctuaries?"

"…one day?"

"And how long has this one remained undetected?"

"….one month?"

"That's too much of a difference to be coincidence. Something is causing the omniscient spirit of chaos to overlook this little cave where, from what I can tell, his greatest enemies have been hiding! Not even the most advanced perception filter could do that – he'd blow right through it!"

"What're ya sayin', Doc?" asked Apple Bloom, who'd finally plucked up the courage to speak up.

"Something is specifically blocking Discord's sight when he looks this way...and it's not the princesses! Something so foreign to his worldview that he doesn't even acknowledge it's existence! What could that be? What could be so...not-Discord?"

Suddenly, the three children remembered Cherilee's words back in the sculpture garden: "_This statue represents discord, which means 'a lack of harmony between ponies.'_"

"HARMONY!" they all exclaimed.

"Exactly!" confirmed the Doctor. "Princess- oh, I'm sorry; _Soon-to-be _Princess Celestia, Soon-to-be Princess Luna, you have been standing on the key to defeating your archenemy this entire time! Somewhere, in this system of caves...are the Elements of Harmony!"

….

"Doctor..." both alicorn sisters said at once teary-eyed, "You're brilliant!"

"Oh, thanks; it was nothing, really!" the Doctor modestly stated.

"No. It wasn't _nothing._ You've given us a glimmer of hope, after years of none!"Celestia said, her white coat seemingly becoming even more radiant.

"We never did explore these caves fully when we made this sanctuary;" said Luna, whose coat was also becoming much fuller, "there's the chance that you may be right!"

"We should all start searching for them right away!" exclaimed Celestia.

"Right then! No time for dilly-dally! Allons-y!" the Doctor stated.

"Wait a second, Doctor;" called out Scootaloo: "Why search for them, when we can just use Luna's crystal ball?"

Luna responded quickly: "I built it to follow Discord's chaos energy. To find something made out of pure harmony..."

"...should be a simple matter of reversing the polarity...or that statement's magical equivalent." said the Doctor as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver, and pressing the button...and being met with the familiar blue glow and high-pitched trilling.

"You can do that?" asked Luna, to which she got a nod in response.

"Perfect!" Luna exclaimed. "Come, let us find the Elements of Harmony!" And with that, she trotted over to her crystal ball in the corner, with Celestia, the Doctor, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders in tow.

"We'll be going home soon, children! Aren't you excited?"

"Yeah!" Apple Bloom enthusiastically replied...before scowling at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, and continuing like so: "Then, I won't ever have to speak to you two ever again!"

"Works for me!" both replied, also scowling.

The Doctor scrunched his face in part disappointment, and part confusion over how to handle the three fighting friends...and then decided, out loud, "Oh well, we'll sort it out when we get back. Nothing could possibly stop us now!"

_Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh..._

The six ponies turned towards the sound, which was rapidly increasing in volume. Suddenly,they noticed the glowing outline of a pony-sized blue box fading into existence right next to a cave opening.

Celestia and Luna looked on with confusion...until the Doctor shouted: "no no no no no NO NO!"

_Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh...CLUNK!_

"What is it, Doctor? What is that?"

Before anypony could say anything else, the doors to the TARDIS opened, and a familiar-looking draconeqquus stepped out. It coughed, shook it's goat-like head, and spoke. "There you are, Doctor! You know, you really need to fix things up around here! I had to re-install the randomizer just to get this thing working!"

In a matter of seconds, the cave was filled with a cacophony of screaming ponies. Celestia and Luna, horns glowing with magic, quickly put themselves in between everypony and Discord...who just laughed!

"HAHAHA! Standing up to me? Gimme a break! You probably used up all your power putting up that harmony filter – which, admittedly, was a nice touch, still have no idea how you did it. If I hadn't used the TARDIS sensors to track down the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, you probably would've remained hidden for quite some time!"

Those words instantly broke the Doctor's two hearts. "I...betrayed everypony...and I didn't even know it!" he said, as he looked at his sonic screwdriver.

"Yep!" Discord noted excitedly. "Now," he continued, looking at Celestia and Luna "Where were we...ah yes, I was about to punish you two for ruining my fun!" And with that, he raised his (eagle and lion) arms in the air, surrounding them with his power...

"WAIT!" the Doctor suddenly shouted, his eyes conveying the impression that his massive brain was working.

"What is it, Doctor?" asked Celestia, Luna, and Discord

"Ruining the lives of innocent ponies...that's your idea of fun?" the Doctor asked Discord.

"Well _DUH!_ I'm the spirit of disharmony, of _course_ it's my idea of fun!"

"Well then..." the Doctor stepped forward boldly, "I have a little game you may want to play."

Instantly, Discord's interest in the Doctor spiked. He dissipated the aura of power around his hands, and leaned in closer: "I'm listening, Doc. Better make it worth my time."

The Doctor took a breath, cleared his throat, and spoke: "You take me back up to the surface, and play your little chaos games with me. Not them."

"Hmmm, tempting...what's the catch?"

"You have to play with _me_ and _me alone._ Do whatever you want with me, but as long as it's just_ me. _And please make your decision before you go off messing with anypony else."

Discord thought about it...and then said: "Alright, Doc. But on one condition: If I can get you to chicken out, or regenerate, then the game is over, and I can do whatever I want to these guys."

The Doctor lowered his head...and then raised it again, saying: "Deal."

Suddenly, the Cutie Mark Crusaders grabbed his hind legs, and begged: "NO! DON'T GO!"

"I agree with the kids, Doctor;" stated Celestia, "You can't possibly make it through this!"

"I must." replied the Doctor. "I got you all into this mess. All of you. (casting an empathetic look at Celestia, Luna, then the Cutie Mark Crusaders) None of this would've happened if I had just not gotten involved."

His words made the Cutie Mark Crusaders suddenly feel sorry for themselves, for forcing the Doctor's hooves.

"But," the Doctor continued, "I'm involved now. And this is what I can do right now." And with that, he put his hooves forward, saying: "Come on, Discord. We've got a game to start."

"Yes, but first;" Discord said, as he pointed his eagle-fingers at the Doctor, "You'll have to leave your sonic screwdriver behind."

As the draconeqquus said those words, the sonic device suddenly pulled itself out of the Doctor's jacket, and flew to the other side of the clearing.

"When we finish the game," Discord explained, "I want to be able to find this place again." then, Discord lifted the Doctor with his magic, and carried him inside the TARDIS.

As he was being carried, however, the Doctor shouted back: "Remember! Reverse the Polarity! Use setting 13! Find them before he finishes with me! It's your only chance!" Then, the doors of the TARDIS closed on him, and his voice was cut off. Seconds later, the TARDIS disappeared.

_Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh..._

…...

"What now?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Celestia walked over to where the sonic screwdriver had been thrown, and telekinetically picked it up. "We still have some time left. We can still go through with the Doctor's plan, even though he's not here right now."

"Luna," she addressed her sister, "let's get that crystal ball working. Let's find the Elements of Harmony while we still can."

MEANWHILE, ON THE SURFACE:

_Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh...CLUNK!_

The TARDIS materialized on a field of blue lava under a lavender sky, and the Doctor and Discord exited. Discord snapped his fingers, and the TARDIS was instantly encased in a block of ice.

"Alright...where do we begin..." contemplated Discord...and then a lightbulb appeared over his head: "AHA! Why don't we start with the classics?"

Then, before the Doctor had time to react, a sickly red glow enveloped three nearby rocks, causing them to grow, change, and gain new features...and when the glow ceased...

"You're serious."

"Serious?" exclaimed Discord, offended: "I've never been so insulted! You should be punished! Daleks?"

"_EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"_


	3. Chapter 3

_STILL own nothing._

* * *

><p>THE TIME OF DISCORD<p>

Chapter 3

* * *

><p>"<em>EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"<em>

The initial volley of blasts from the Daleks' rayguns missed, striking the ground near the Doctor. But he didn't notice, because by then, he had turned on his hooves and started running away.

"Gyah-hahaha!" laughed Discord, "That's right, RUN, Doctor! It won't save you this time!" And with that, Discord snapped his claws.

The Doctor looked back as his foe boasted, and turned back towards the path...which he suddenly realized had a huge monolith standing in it! Desperately, he skidded to a halt, and looked to the sides for a way out.

No luck.

He turned around, and he saw Discord standing behind three Daleks, a smirk on the draconequus' face. "You can always give up, you know!" he said, eyeing the Doctor intently.

The Doctor shivered with apparent fear as he watched the pepperpot-like psychopaths closed in...And then twitched his ears slightly, and his face changed from fearful to smug.

"No thank you, Discord. The game can't be over yet."

Discord asked "Why not?" to which he got this answer: The Doctor jumping up, causing him to soar through the air, and land right on top of the massive monolith.

"Well," the Doctor said, "for starters, I can tell when a planet's gravity is lower than normal. It's something I learned to feel naturally after 900 years of practice."

The Doctor noticed Discord's shocked face at this point. "Oh come on, you said it yourself: You forgot all the things you did around the place, you've been doing it so long! I'd say you ought to start keeping track...but then, that would be _organizing,_ unthinkable for the spirit of chaos. Ta-ta!"

And with that, the Doctor leaped down from the monolith, landing in a pool of water. He trudged through it, whispering to himself: "_Come __on, __girls.__I __don't __know__ how __long __I __can __keep __having __these __lucky __breaks..._"

IN THE CAVE

Luna levitated the crystal ball before her and her sister, gazing into it intently as the glowing, beeping 'sonic screwdriver' floated above it.

"Seeing anything yet, sister?" asked Celestia, her horn glowing with the same aura as the one enveloping the sonic screwdriver.

"No. I think you need to angle that thing another way." suggested her sister. Celestia took the suggestion, changing the angle of the floating device with her magic.

Meanwhile, the three young Cutie Mark Crusaders leaned in closer to the crystal ball, trying to get a look at what Luna was seeing...when Scootaloo leaned forward more, and Sweetie Belle shoved her aside.

"Quit pushing!" demanded an offended Scootaloo.

"Well then, quit hogging!" retorted Sweetie Belle.

"Stop talkin'! Ah'm tryin' ta watch the crystal ball!" snapped Apple Bloom.

"That's what I was trying to do!" snapped Scootaloo.

"No you weren't! You were blocking our views!"

"Was not!"

"Were too!"

"Was not!"

"Were too!"

"GIRLS!" shouted Luna all of a sudden, causing all three fillies to jump backwards. "I cannot concentrate with the three of you arguing!" she elaborated in an exasperated tone.

"Well she started it!" Apple Bloom said as she pointed to Sweetie Belle.

"Started what?" asked Celestia, turning her focus away from the sonic screwdriver to look at the three fillies...who looked at Celestia in confusion.

"What're you saying, princess?" asked Scootaloo.

"What caused the three of you to hate each other so much?"

All three of them looked at each other, searching their minds for an answer. Eventually, Sweetie Belle stammered:

"Ummm...we didn't agree on what 'discord' meant...then we started arguing...and...and..."

"You know, my little ponies; I'd think you'd know what 'discord' means by now...so why are you still arguing?"

Celestia's question struck the three fillies harder than Luna's outburst. The three of them looked at each other, their faces carrying expressions of shock, anguish...and regret. They opened their mouths...

"Sister," Luna suddenly exclaimed, "I got something! Move that thing a little bit to the right!"

Celestia quickly turned back to the beeping screwdriver, and did exactly that. Then, Luna leaned in closer...and then jumped back in delight!

"AHA! I've got it!"

"Got what?" asked the children.

In response, Luna touched her horn to the ball...and beams of light projected off the glass surface, onto the walls and ceilings of the caves! Very quickly, the cave looked like it was wrapped with streaking lines in all the colors of the rainbow.

Luna quickly explained: "Those are the traces of the harmonic energy that runs all over these caves! If we follow them to their source..."

"...Then we find the Elements of Harmony." Celestia finished.

Upon hearing this, Apple Bloom looked around...and quickly noticed that only one of the tunnels had color bands of all the colors lining it's walls. She quickly pointed it out to the alicorn sisters.

"Good eye, child!" exclaimed Luna, and immediately followed it up with: "Let's go!" The next instant, all five ponies galloped off towards that odd tunnel.

ON THE SURFACE

The Doctor trotted through the jumble of rocks, watching his step constantly, lest he fall down the steep incline. "Did I ever mention how much I've grown tired of abandoned quarries?" he said to no one in particular...

"Well, you have _now._"

The Doctor turned around...and found himself face to face with a gray-colored unicorn with a black mane, beard, and mustache, and a red hourglass for a cutie mark.

"Who are you supposed to be? The Master?"

"Doesn't matter, really – I'm here to deliver a message..." And with that, the stranger walked around the Doctor, and spoke:

_Listen to what I have to say;  
>The choice is yours, to go or stay.<em>

_Both choices carry a heavy price,  
>But one has a reward you may find nice.<em>

_If leaving's the choice you choose to pursue..._

The bearded pony held his upturned hoof in front of the Doctor's face...

_I shall return Planet Gallifrey to you._

...and upon the hoof appeared an image of the oh-so-familiar red planet of the once-proud Time Lord race. The Doctor recognized every continent, every ocean, and every point of light that denoted a civilized area. All the memories of his childhood, of his old family, of his teachers, and of his friends, they all rushed back to the surface, bringing tears to the Doctor's eyes. Oh, how he longed for the chance to apologize to them all. How he longed for the opportunity to say 'I'm sorry I had to destroy my own homeworld.' He gazed longingly into the image of the spinning red planet, his past refusing to turn his gaze away.

"So," said the bearded pony, "Do we have a deal, Doctor?"

Suddenly, the Doctor's mind snapped back to the present day. "I can't." he said, as he shut his eyes with all his might.

"Why not?" asked the unicorn, dispersing the image of Gallifrey in his hoof: "You would get that chance at forgiveness! The guilt you have been shouldering for such a long time will be lifted!"

"True," said the Doctor, "but it would be replaced by the guilt I would have of leaving this place to Discord. I _never_ willingly run away from people (or ponies, as the case may be) who are in distress."

Then, the Doctor pointed at the bearded pony: "As someone who has watched my adventures in my universe from afar, you should know this!"

The statement shocked the pony...who then glared at the Doctor, and said "So much for that." before rearing up, and disappearing in a cloud of smoke...which dispersed to reveal Discord.

"You had your chance to go the easy way, Doc. Time to go back to the hard way!" he exclaimed, as he snapped his claws.

Instantly, all the rocks the Doctor was scrambling over started floating, causing the Doctor to be lifted up with them! Within seconds, the Doctor was clinging upside down to one of the larger floating rocks, to the sound of Discord's maniacal laughter.

Quickly, the Doctor regained his bearings, and swung his body back and forth as dramatically as he could...and then, with one last swing, he turned the rock upside down, resulting in him on top. Instantly, he leaped off; and using the other rocks to break his fall, he tumbled back onto what could be considered solid ground, and galloped off.

Discord growled, and teleported away after the Doctor.

IN THE CAVES

The five ponies galloped through the long and winding tunnel, following the glowing bands of harmonic energy as they appeared on the walls. Their hopes grew with each hoof-fall, as they knew their goal lay at the end of the tunnel.

Eventually, they rounded a corner, and there it was.

A large stone pedestal stood inside a small chamber, a large globe on top. From it, extended five platforms, each containing a smaller globe with a jewel-shaped recession carved into it. Through their magic, the Alicorns saw the harmonic bands of color stemming from those globes, and spreading out all over the chamber.

Quickly guessing what they were, the alicorns levitated the five globes off of the platforms and set them down on the ground. Instantly, they saw the runic symbols under them, which they read aloud: **Honesty,****Laughter,****Kindness,****Loyalty,****Generosity.**

"The Elements of Harmony! That must be them! Now we can fight Discord!" exclaimed the children.

"Not so fast;" said Celestia, "we still don't know how to use them."

Just then, Luna looked at the top globe...and pointed to it saying: "There's writing! I think it'll tell us how!"

And with that, she flapped her wings and flew up to the top of the pedestal, blew the dust off, and read aloud:

_To light the darkness on the land,  
>These powers six must awake:<br>First, the light of Loyalty  
>Shows bonds that cannot break.<em>

_Second, Kindness shines forth  
>To relieve the world's pain.<br>Third, Laughter brings joy  
>To banish sorrow's strain.<em>

_Fourth, Honesty brings truth  
>So lies may no longer stand.<br>Fifth, shall Generosity  
>Lend all its helpful hand.<em>

_Now each of these are great indeed,  
>But separate they will fall.<br>So find the Sixth power when  
>The spark unites them all.<em>

"There're supposed t' be six? But where's the sixth?" asked Apple Bloom.

"It said we'll find it when 'the spark unites them all.'" noted Celestia. "I think it's talking about a spark of magical power. Luna?"

Luna nodded, and flew right next to her sister. Then, the two closed their eyes, focused, and channeled their power through their horns. Within seconds, a powerful wind whipped through the chamber as they gathered pure magic into a single point before the two of them. Then, with effort, they pushed the glowing sphere of power onto the Elements.

Instantly, the power jumped back and forth across the Elements, causing them all to glow with a slight radiance...that quickly vanished as the power dispersed.

Everypony gasped as the Elements just sat there, not displaying even the slightest hint that they were just channeling a humongous amount of power just now.

"No..."

ON THE SURFACE:

"GET THE DOCTOR!" shouted the Sontarans as they chased their quarry through the rainforest-like landscape.

"GET THE DOCTOR!" growled the Slitheen as their Raxicoricofallapatorian bodies loped after the brown pony over the miniature mountain range.

"GET THE DOCTOR!" ordered the Judoon as its subordinates chased the Doctor through upside-down waterfalls.

"GET THE DOCTOR!" shouted a group of reptilian Silurians who pursued the Doctor through the air (and how they were able to keep their footing there was anyone's guess).

…..

Discord watched the Time Lord pony get chased to and fro, his eyeballs going back and forth repeatedly...and then he yawned: "Ugh! This is getting boring! That's it, I'm heading back to the caves!"

Then, he snapped his fingers, and the TARDIS appeared next to him. Blowing a raspberry at the Doctor, he knocked on the door, causing it to open...

...and just before Discord could walk inside, the Doctor pushed right on past him, standing in between the central console and the draconequus. "Oh no you don't! The game's not over yet!"

"...no. It isn't." said Discord with a smirk...right before he pointed his lion-hand at the floor below the Doctor, which instantly turned into a trapdoor!

The Doctor tumbled through the the twisting chute, all while Discord laughed, and began to manipulate the controls.

IN THE CAVES

"I can't believe it...all that hope...wasted!" Luna sobbed into the shoulder of her sister, as they spread their wings over each other in support.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked on the scene heartbroken, seeing the figures who would eventually become the princesses so sad and defeated.

Eventually, Apple Bloom said, weakly: "Sweetie Belle? For what it's worth...sarry ah called you a dictionary."

Instantly, Sweetie Belle's expression changed from despair...to confusion. "You're sorry?"

"Yeah." replied Apple Bloom.

Sweetie Belle sighed..."You know what? I'm sorry too. Sorry I was a big meanie-pants."

"And I'm sorry too;" said Scootaloo, "for starting that fight in the sculpture gardens."

"Ah'm sorry I said I never wanted t' speak to you ever again." said Apple Bloom.

"I'm sorry I started kicking you guys for no reason." said Sweetie Belle.

"Me too." said Scootaloo, before she continued: "Celestia was right; there was no reason for us to be fighting."

Then, all three of them said, all together: "You girls are the _best_ friends I have ever had."

They all pulled each other in for a large group hug, and whispered (tears coming back to their eyes): "Cutie Mark Crusaders...are go."

…

Suddenly, behind their eyes, they saw a light forming in the middle of their group hug. Surprised, they opened their eyes, and saw a sparkling orb of energy! In surprise, the CMCs broke their hug, and shouted: "Look! Look!" at the alicorns.

As soon as they looked, the sparkling orb drifted off towards the Elements, and placed itself in the middle of the stone globes. A second later, beams of light blasted straight from the Elements, and struck the energy ball...which, in a bright flash of light, became a stone orb just like the Elements, with a six-pointed star engraved into it! Celestia quickly used her unicorn magic to turn the orb over...and a rune revealed its name: **Magic.**

"The sixth Element of Harmony...revealed by the spark of great friendship." stated Celestia, overjoyed. "Everypony owes a debt to you, children."

"Look!" Luna cried out: "the writing!"

Sure enough, on the stone pedestal had appeared another little verse:

_Sixth, the power of Magic,  
>Like friendship ever so pure,<br>Brings together those who wish  
>To find a problem's cure.<em>

Everypony hugged each other in joy, laughing at their sudden great fortune. Eventually, Celestia broke up the massive group hug, as she said: "Now, we can finally fight Discord."

IN THE TARDIS

_Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh..._

Discord laughed as he pulled the dematerialization lever. "You've failed, Doctor!" he called down the trapdoor, "Everypony is going to pay for daring to defy me...especially Celestia and Luna!"

The Doctor, who had recently landed in a dark room, heard it all and growled.

"Oh, and by the way," Discord's voice continued, "since you're probably going to regenerate anyway, I'm gonna go ahead and call the game off. Toodles!"

Suddenly, the lights in the dark room came on, and the Doctor saw that he was surrounded...by ponies covered all over in armor, with distinctive bars on the sides of their heads...

"_YOU __ARE__ THE__ DOCTOR. __YOU __WILL__ BE __DELETED.__"_ calmly stated the Cybermare.

IN THE CAVES

_Vrrrrooosh..._._Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh...Vrrrrooosh..._

The sound of the TARDIS grabbed all of their attention. Celestia and Luna ushered the Cutie Mark Crusaders behind them, as they stood behind the Elements, horns displayed in battle-ready stance.

Sure enough, Discord walked out of the TARDIS doors. "Alright," he said, "It's been fun chasing you all over these lands, but now it ends. Now, Chaos shall be the uncontested, supreme ruler! Bwahahahahaha!"

"Wrong, Discord!" shouted Luna. "Your reign is at an end!"

This only caused Discord to laugh even more. "HA HA HA! Are we talking on the same level here? You don't understand my power!"

"Same goes for you!" shot back Celestia: "You have things you don't understand as well! And that is why you shall lose!"

And with that, Celestia and Luna gathered their magic together, and lifted up the Elements of Harmony, displaying them clearly to Discord!

"These," continued Celestia, "are the things responsible for the 'harmony filter' that blocked these caves from your sight: Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic; the Elements of Harmony!"

Discord gasped in disbelief.

"Surprised?" Luna asked Discord, "Surprised to be face to face with your polar opposite? Something so alien to you, you cannot grasp the concept that it exists? Well, that shortsightedness is precisely why your reign ends today!"

"Because as long as you cannot understand what harmony means," Celestia elaborated, "Harmony shall always defeat you." And with that, she and her sister closed their eyes, focused, and channeled their power into their horns…

And as they did, the floating Elements responded: Their stone forms faded away to reveal glittering gemstones, which bathed everything in their rainbow brilliance, but nothing more so than the alicorns they surrounded.

Instantly, the forms of the sisters changed…Celestia's mane and tail transformed from solid pink, into waving bands of pastel-colored energy, while Luna's mane (and tail) transformed from light blue to waves of glittering stars.

Then, the magical glow surrounding their horns shot forward, arcing straight towards the spirit of disharmony. Passing through the brilliance of the glowing Elements, the beams grew in size, and transformed into massive, beautiful rainbows, which surrounded the shocked form of Discord in a brilliant whirlpool of light. Creaking and cracking was heard, as behind the light, Discord twisted and turned in frightened desperation.

Suddenly, he righted himself, and his silhouette looked straight at the alicorns as he said: "Alright! You win! But be on your guard; when my final curse strikes you, those little trinkets will be useless! And I shall take my rightful place as ruler of the entire universe! AH, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA -"

The last vestiges of his laughter were drowned out as the rainbow exploded outwards, enveloping the entire chamber in blinding light.

IN THE TARDIS

Two Cybermares pressed their hooves to the Doctor's sides, preventing him from moving. The rest pointed their forelegs at him, their hooves glowing with gathering energy as their weapons charged to full power.

"_DELETE. __DELETE. __DELETE.__"_ they chanted…

And then, a wave of rainbow-colored light flowed through the walls of the TARDIS, striking all the Cybermares as it passed them. The robotic creations of Discord's magic collapsed, clutched their hooves to their helmets…and then burst in a rainbow-colored explosion.

The Doctor, while the light had no physical effect on him, exclaimed: "YES! I knew you could do it!" before grabbing the door, and opening it.

…..

The Doctor exited the TARDIS to find that he was no longer underground…rather, that the TARDIS was parked in a beautiful field, directly facing a large stone altar-like structure with cobblestones surrounding it. And in between the stone structure and him were six floating gemstones, Celestia, Luna, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

He rushed out, and exclaimed: "You did it! I wish I could've been there to see you do it, princesses!"

Celestia laughed a single, silent laugh. "Thank the children," she said, "The rekindling of their friendship is what allowed us to do it in the first place!"

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle looked at Celestia…then at themselves. At a loss for what to say, they simply smiled at each other.

"It was…you?" asked the Doctor, although he already guessed the answer…and sure enough, the CMCs looked at the Doctor, and nodded.

"Oh…you three are _brilliant_! I mean, look at you! Thanks to you, the entire universe is saved!"

"Is _being_ saved," Luna corrected. "Look."

The Doctor followed her hoof and saw, on the horizon, a wave of rainbow energy pushing outwards. It took that which was disorganized and chaotic, and made it neat and ordered.

"Oh, I see…" said the Doctor, "Discord's done so much; it'll take….about a week to undo everything he's done. Speaking of Discord, what happened to him?"

In response to that, Celestia pointed off to the side…where the Doctor saw a statue of a laughing draconequus. Instantly, he knew what happened. "Turned him to stone, eh?"

"Indeed. We cannot completely destroy him…but we could remove him." replied Celestia.

"I see." nodded the Doctor. "Well then, we – that is, me and the children – need to get back to our time. You two have a big, bright future ahead of you!" And with that, he waved his hoof, beckoning the CMCs closer: "Come along, children, time to go home."

Smiles on their faces, the three walked through the doors to the TARDIS. The Doctor watched them enter, then turned back towards the soon-to-be princesses: "You still have my sonic screwdriver, right?"

Celestia nodded, and levitated the device towards its real owner...who took it in his hoof, stuffed it in his jacket, and started to walk inside the TARDIS himself.

"Wait a second, Doctor;" suddenly exclaimed Luna, causing the Doctor to turn around. "As we were turning Discord to stone, he said something about a 'final curse.' If you're from the future...What did he mean by it?"

The Doctor looked at the two sisters...and suddenly imagined the helmet of Nightmare Moon over Luna's head.

He lowered his head, and said: "I'm...sorry. I can't tell you."

The two princesses were worried...

"But," the Doctor continued, "this I _can_ say: you'll make it through, and everypony will wind up fine in the end."

Luna and Celestia sighed, and gave each other heartwarming looks. "Thank you, Doctor." said Luna.

"Come, sister. Like he said, we have work to do." said Celestia, before the two trotted off to an unknown destination...and the Elements placed themselves back on the platforms on the stone pedestal.

The Doctor smiled, and entered the TARDIS. He closed the door, and then walked over to the central console, and pulled out his screwdriver.

"What'cha doin', Doc? Fixin th' steerin' wheel?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Not really – Discord already fixed it, but he _did_ re-install a randomizer I used to have in here, so it could bend to his chaotic will. But _this_ time, I won't forget to turn it off."

As he said that, his screwdriver let out a brief '_eeeee_', and a burst of white sparks flew from a small device below the console.

"Overall, this looks like a pretty good day, children: I got to take part in Equestrian History, you guys resolved your little fight, and all of us survived the encounter! I'm in a really good mood today!"

The three fillies nodded...and then Scootaloo pointed out: "You know, with our friendship fixed and everything, doesn't that mean the Cutie Mark Crusaders are back in action?"

The Doctor's eyebrows shot to the top of his face, as the rest of the Crusaders looked at each other, then at him...

"*Sigh.* Alright, but do _exactly_ as I tell you, no more, no less. And _just_for the return trip."

"Works for me!" exclaimed Scootaloo...

...and then, they all shouted in unison: "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER TIME TRAVELLERS!"

"Don't make me regret this..."

_**(PRESENT DAY)**_

"...and that's the story of how we got here." finished the Doctor. "You can guess the rest."

…. "WHEEE! Thanks for the awesome story!" shouted Pinkie Pie.

"You totally showed Discord who's boss!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, who flapped up and high-hoofed the Doctor.

"Just one question though;" interjected Rarity: "You actually let Sweetie Belle and her friends fly the TARDIS?"

Guiltily, the Doctor said: "Ah heh...well, yes, BUT with careful supervision and strict instructions."

Applejack pressed her hoof to her chin in thought...and then asked: "How many...ehh..._side__trips_ didja wind up takin'?"

"None, actually! They were pretty well-behaved for a change, and did exactly as I told them to!" the Time Lord proclaimed.

"Glad to hear it." sighed Fluttershy, "I'd hate to even think of the trouble they could've caused elsewhere in the galaxy. But why?"

"Well, to propose a theory, the emotional response to getting their friendship restarted might have crowded out their impulsive natures temporarily...but then again, I know hardly anything about ponies."

Then, the gathering was silent...until Twilight Sparkle exited her thoughtful phase, and called for Spike. He arrived shortly, with paper, quill, and ink ready. Seconds later, Twilight started speaking, and Spike transcribed:

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_This comes approximately 1,500 years late, as the events inspiring this letter happened around the time you and Luna first defeated Discord. It appears that, during a time-traveling adventure with the Doctor, the three fillies Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo learned a valuable lesson about friendship._

_They learned that everypony is different, and this can lead to conflicts. But on the other hand, overcoming those differences, and resolving them, are what make friendships last a very long time._

_Also, I would like to add, that I personally hope they've learned this: when you're visiting somepony's house, you should respect the rules of their home. They probably have those rules for good reason, and plus it's just courteous to your host._

_Your faithful student,_

_Twilight Sparkle._

Upon finishing the letter, Spike promptly breathed his special teleportation-fire onto the letter, and sent it flying through the sky.

"Um, Twilight," asked the Doctor, "Why did you include that 'personal' note?"

"Well, I'd consider 'no fighting in the TARDIS' a household rule, right?"

"Good point. Now, what's this 'party' Pinkie keeps telling me about?"

…...

Meanwhile, in Canterlot, the letter flew down though the princesses' fireplace, and restored itself to its original paper form. Celestia glanced over it, and then looked out the window.

Outside was the statue of the three foals playing together, the one that symbolized 'Friendship.'

Celestia smiled. "I knew I had some kind of inspiration for that statue," she said to herself, as she imagined the faces of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo over the statue's faces.


End file.
